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I don’t worry about what Cassini likes…I use as many photos as the item seems to need. Sometimes that’s all 12, often, that’s less.
I didn’t see your other post, so maybe you mentioned this, but: what’s the seller’s stated return policy?
I think the consensus here is it takes a minimum of 500 items before you will have a pretty good pipeline (and, of course, even then sales will be uneven).
There is no magic to a store. eBay doesn’t suddenly push you to the head of all search results etc. But there are advantages, and they aren’t limited to the fee structure.
But the main thing is to have stuff people want, at a price they want it at. And, with long tail stuff, patience is a big help, because most long tail stuff has very limited demand.
As to pricing, beware: The race to the bottom is a losing game.
I think there may be a little confusion here. Yes, as long as the label is printed within a certain time frame, you can meet the TRS status requirement. But remember that there is a different requirement for seller performance. The package must actually be mailed the day you say it will be, so if the purchase is made on Monday, and you have one day handling time you’ve actually got to get it into the mail Tuesday (not just print the label). HOWEVER, if you are a day late, let’s say, but the item shows delivered within the estimated time frame anyway, or the buyer answers affirmatively that it arrived within the time frame, then you will be OK for that transaction.
I want to second what Eve has to say. Spending five dollars on an item that is only worth two bucks is a mistake, but it’s not a costly mistake. For most of us, spending five hundred dollars on an item that turns out to be worth only two hundred bucks IS a pretty costly mistake.
I’ve only listened to part of the podcast, but a couple things concerned me. Jay’s statement about getting to the auction an hour ahead of time and researching via smartphone while drinking coffee. IF you are researching something you already are very familiar with, that’s fine. But if not, a smartphone is NOT a substitute for years of experience. I think it can give a false sense of confidence on many things.
Also, you guys mentioned that the auction house draws mostly dealers, and that, so far, you’ve mostly confined yourself to box lots. OK. But once you start moving into the better stuff, you WILL be noticed. And there ARE dealers who will deliberately bid things past their value in the hopes that you’ll win…and get hung with an item you paid too much for.
And , depending on the auction house, if you take Eve’s advice and befriend the regulars, you may find yourself invited into “the pool”. That raises an ethical question for one thing. And the other thing it raises is, how prepared are you for another level of competition?
I’m not trying to discourage you from moving into higher end items. But recognize that the learning curve can be pretty stiff….and can be costly. If money is fairly tight right now, with the renovations, this might be the time to study some niches rather than spend a lot. Those with a nice financial cushion can afford to make more mistakes than those without.
Have you tried a “sales Event” in Promotions Manager (unfortunately, appears to be glitchy right now). Pretty sure you can set up a bunch of these in advance, so you could set up a week’s (or maybe month’s worth) in advance…
I think one of the bigger differences between “sales event” and Markdown Manager is that MM doesn’t really promote. Sales Event is essentially MM on steroids, as it actually promotes the markdowned merchandise
A couple thoughts: Yes, his workaround—if that’s what it is—COULD indicate a pattern. BUT maybe not. When eBay first announced the out of stock rule, the ebay boards were filled with posts from people saying things like :” Well, there’s an easy way around this…” So, it’s not as if there’s no advice out there on how to dodge the out of stock defect. Even someone out of stock for the first time could find out how to try to dodge it.
I do agree with ecommerce about a discount rather than a gift. The refund made the buyer whole financially, but it is no comfort to the buyer who spent time finding the item and really wants it (especially for the sort of unusual stuff many of us sell). I think I would use Promotions Manager to issue a coupon code for my store, good for “x” and for a certain duration (especially if I had related items in the store, which might be of interest to the buyer). But of course, doing that would not require shipping something, and that’s the nub of the issue here, isn’t it? Is the seller’s sole motive in shipping a gift, an effort to make up for the buyer’s inconvenience, or is it an effort to dodge the defect?
